Natural Philosophy and Metaphysics (Phil 365)
Professor Michael Rota Office Hours:
Office: John Roach Center, 233 Monday 12:35-1:20
Office phone: 651 962-5392 Monday 3:00-4:00
Home phone: 651 698-0135 (Not after 9 pm.) Wednesday 12:35-1:20
Email: and by appointment
Course Description:
Metaphysics and natural philosophy (or philosophy of nature, as it is also called) are among the most foundational of philosophical sub-disciplines. A solid grounding in these two areas helps a great deal when it comes to the study of ethics, epistemology, and the philosophy of religion, as well as the study of theology proper. In this course we will examine some of the core concepts, issues, and arguments in natural philosophy and metaphysics.
After starting with a discussion of what philosophy of nature and metaphysics are all about, we’ll talk briefly about realism and objective truth. Then we’ll spend three weeks on the essentials of Aristotle’s philosophy of nature: his account of substances and accidents, matter and form, nature, the four causes, and change. Next, we’ll look at several areas of Aquinas’s natural philosophy and metaphysics—his account of causation, his understanding of the scope and subject matter of natural philosophy and metaphysics, and his discussion of a family of concepts known as the transcendentals (especially being, truth, and goodness). After pausing for some review and a mid-term examination, we will return to Aquinas, this time to his famous (but difficult) discussion of essence and existence, and his account of divine simplicity. (Divine simplicity has to do with the claim that God is not composed of parts of any kind.)
Having acquired some facility with these classic topics in philosophy of nature and metaphysics, we will shift our attention to the contemporary scene. We’ll read some cutting-edge research on free will and materialism by one of today’s most exciting philosophers, Peter Unger. We’ll then look at a number of intriguing puzzles about material objects, focusing on the views of Peter van Inwagen, Lynne Rudder Baker, Dean Zimmerman, and, once again, Thomas Aquinas. In the penultimate week of class, we’ll study a recent debate on the beginning of human life. Since a human being is one sort of material substance, questions about when a human being first comes to be bring several issues of natural philosophy and metaphysics to the fore. Your ability to understand this debate will be a good test of whether you’ve grasped some of the essentials of the course. Lastly, we’ll return to Peter Unger, examining his novel argument for the existence of immaterial human souls.
By the end of the semester, if you have come to all the classes and done the assigned work with proper care, you will have a solid foundation in natural philosophy and a good introduction to metaphysics, and will be well-prepared for further studies in philosophy or theology.
Required Texts:
(1) The Basic Works of Aristotle, ed. Richard McKeon, Modern Library
(2) Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings, ed. and transl. Ralph McInerny, Penguin Classics
(3) Articles (to be photo-copied or printed by you).
a) Michael Loux, the introductory chapter in Metaphysics: A Contemporary
Introduction (on reserve at the library).
b) William P. Alston, “Realism and the Christian faith,” International Journal for
Philosophy of Religion 38 (1995): 37-60 (Please go to Ireland library and photo-copy this yourself).
c) Michael Gorman, “Essence and the Essential-Accidental Distinction” (I’ll email this to
you, with permission of the author).
d) Eleonore Stump, “Aquinas’s Account of Divine Simplicity” (I’ll email this to you,
with permission of the author).
e) Peter Unger, “Free Will and Scientiphicalism,” Philosophy and
Phenomenological Research, 65 (2002): 1-25. (This article can be accessed via our library’s electronic subscriptions; I’ll simply email it to you).
f) Chapters from Christopher Brown’s Aquinas and the Ship of Theseus: Solving Puzzles
about Material Objects (on reserve)
g) John Haldane and Patrick Lee, “Aquinas on Human Ensoulment, Abortion, and the
Value of Life,” Philosophy 78 (2003): 255-278. (This article can be accessed via our library’s electronic subscriptions; I’ll simply email it to you).
h) Robert Pasnau, “Souls and the Beginning of Life (A Reply to Haldane and Lee),”
Philosophy 78 (2003): 521-531. (This article can be accessed via our library’s electronic subscriptions; I’ll simply email it to you).
i) John Haldane and Patrick Lee, “Rational Souls and the Beginning of Life (A Reply
to Robert Pasnau),” Philosophy 78 (2003): 532-540. (This article can be accessed via our library’s electronic subscriptions; I’ll simply email it to you).
j) Peter Unger, “The Mental Problems of the Many,” Oxford Studies in Metaphysics,
vol. 1, ed. Dean Zimmerman (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004): 195-222 (on reserve).
Assignments & Grading:
Short papers 50%
Mid-term examination 20%
Final Exam 30%
Class Participation and Effort Borderline grades
Short papers: I’ll be assigning around eight short papers (typically about 250 words each) on material we cover in class. Details to follow.
Final: The final will be cumulative, so take good notes from day one. The final exam will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 18th, from 8am till 10am, in our normal classroom.
Grading scale: A 93% and up
A- 90 up to 93
B+ 87 up to 90
B 83 up to 87
B- 80 up to 83
C+ 77 up to 80
C 73 up to 77
C- 70 up to 73
D+ 67 up to 70
D 63 up to 67
D- 60 up to 63
F below 60
Note:
1. I encourage you to ask questions in class and to speak up regarding the issues we are discussing. It is not possible for you to lower your grade by participating in class in these ways – it can only help!
2. Attendance is mandatory. Starting with your third absence, each unexcused absence will lower your course grade 2 percentage points. For example, if you miss 4 classes total, and your course grade would have been a 90% (A-), you’ll get an 86% (B) instead. If you know you are going to miss a particular class day, please contact me beforehand.
3. Always feel free to come to office hours or make an appointment if you have any questions relating to the course or the material we’re covering.
4. This syllabus is subject to change in accordance with the needs of the course.
5. I will punish plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty to the maximum extent allowed by the university. It is your responsibility to learn and understand what counts as academic dishonesty. The “Disciplinary Rights and Procedures” section of the Undergraduate Student Policy Book contains relevant information on this score. The Undergraduate Student Policy Book can be found online at http://www.stthomas.edu/policies/student_policy_book/default.asp
6. Classroom accommodations will be provided for qualified students with documented disabilities. Students are invited to contact the Enhancement Program – Disability Services about accommodations for this course within the first two weeks of the term. Telephone appointments are available to students as needed. Appointments can be made by calling 651-962-6315 or 800-328-6819, extension 6315. You may also make an appointment in person in O’Shaughnessy Educational Center, room 119. For further information, you can locate the Enhancement Program on the web at http://www.stthomas.edu/enhancementprog/
SCHEDULE
DATE TOPIC READING
W 9/5 Introduction
F 9/7 The subject matter of metaphysics Loux
and natural philosophy
M 9/10 Realism and Antirealism
W 9/12 Realism and Antirealism Alston
F 9/14 The predicables Aristotle, Topics I.5, I.7, I.9
M 9/17 The categories Aristotle, Categories 1-5
W 9/19 Aristotle’s categories, continued
F 9/21 Essential features and accidental features Gorman
M 9/24 Aristotle’s Physics TBA
W 9/26 Aristotle’s Physics
F 9/28 Aristotle’s Physics
M 10/1 Aristotle’s Physics TBA
W 10/3 Aristotle’s Physics
F 10/5 Aristotle’s Physics
M 10/8 Aquinas’s On the Principles of Nature pp. 18-29 in Thomas Aquinas
W 10/10 Aquinas on causation Introduction in Thomas Aquinas
F 10/12 Aquinas on causation
M 10/15 Aquinas on the scope and nature of pp. 718-721, 438-454.
philosophy of nature and metaphysics
W 10/17 Aquinas on the transcendentals QDV 1.1 (pp. 163-170)
F 10/19 Aquinas on the convertibility
of being and goodness ST I.5.1-3 (pp. 343-349)
M 10/22 Review
W 10/24 Mid-term exam
F 10/26 NO CLASS – mid-term break
M 10/29 The real distinction DEE 4 (pp. 40-43, focus on 42)
W 10/31 Divine simplicity Stump
F 11/2 Divine simplicity
M 11/5 Reductive materialism, ontological pluralism, emergence, and free will Reading: Unger, “Free Will and Scientiphicalism”
W 11/7 Unger
F 11/9 Unger
M 11/12 Puzzles about material objects, Brown, TBA
W 11/14 contemporary views and Aquinas
F 11/16
M 11/19 Puzzles about material objects, continued Brown, TBA
W 11/21
F 11/23 NO CLASS – Thanksgiving
M 11/26 Brown Brown, TBA
W 11/28
F 11/30
M 12/3 Debate between Haldane, Lee, and Pasnau Haldane and Lee
W 12/5 continued Pasnau
F 12/7 continued Haldane and Lee
M 12/10 An argument for immaterial human souls Unger, “The Mental
W 12/12 continued Problems of the Many”
F 12/14 Review for Final